In advance of tomorrow's new housing plan launch, Conor Hunt speaks to two people impacted by housing issues.
In a bungalow on the outskirts of Carlow town, space is tight.
Samantha Sheehy grew up and has lived here all her life.
At 34, she is still sleeping in her childhood bedroom. She now shares that bedroom with her three-year-old son and her mother.
"It's cramped and small," she said.
Her father, who is ill, has his own room as does her sister, who has additional needs, and for whom Ms Sheehy is her full-time carer.
Ms Sheehy said she wants to move on with her life, have more independence and have more space to enjoy with her son.
"It’s not great for mental health, if I'm being honest. You're stuck in a situation you can't get out of," she said.
"It's not nice … unfortunately, when I haven't got my own independence . Obviously, my mother and father need their own bit of space."
Watch: Samantha Sheehy said her living situation is not good for her mental health
Ms Sheehy said she has been on the local authority housing waiting list for around four years.
"Looking for a house is ridiculous, If I'm being brutally honest," she said.
She said she has also looked online for accommodation and said she is eligible for the Housing Assistance Payment, but even with that, what is on offer is out of her reach.
"They're too expensive," she said, "they’re looking for two grand up front, and then maybe 1,500 a month for rent. A single mother and a child ain't gonna be able to afford that. There's not a chance."
So, what does she hope is included in the Government’s new housing plan tomorrow?
"Hopefully, there’s houses that can be given out to people that need a house, especially women and kids," she said, "people that are in genuine need of a house".
"More houses," she said.
'Demoralising'
For Doireann Ní Chonghaile, it is another day, another house viewing.
We meet among a group of would-be buyers at a viewing in Crumlin in Dublin.
The two-bedroom mid-terrace is on the market for €325,000 and needs work.
Ms Ní Chonghaile got mortgage approval last January and has been looking for a home since then.
She has spent most weekends since then going to viewings and described the experience as demoralising.
"I've been to a lot of viewings. I've put in some bids," she said, "but especially as a single buyer, you're kind of up against people with double the buying power and developers and investors, so it's tough."
Watch: Doireann Ní Chonghaile said she has been looking for a home since last January
She said she is "not picky" and would ideally live somewhere near the city centre where she works as a civil servant - "a 30-minute cycle".
"When you come to some viewings, especially the open viewings, and you see how many people are looking, and then you go to bid … sometimes there's new bids coming in every five or ten minutes, and it just seems impossible sometimes," she said.
Ms Ní Chonghaile has been living in Dublin since 2012, when she moved for college. She has been paying rent ever since.
"I could have paid off half a mortgage in that time," she said.
Read more:
Housing plan seeks to deliver 300,000 homes over five years
Once more with feeling: Here comes the latest housing plan
Watch: What would people like to see in new housing plan
